7th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Exhibitor: Jillian Weier, Weier-Nook Farm

Weier-Nook Farm is located in Dodgeville, WI in Iowa County. Jillian Weier, along with her parents, Mark and Sarah Weier, and her siblings, Carl and Tony, milk 50 cows on the 300 acre farm that has an RHA of 19,274 milk, 694 fat, and 585 protein with a BAA of 106.4 as of January 2013. Mark is a 40 year member of the Iowa County Holstein Association and is currently serving as Vice President. He has served many terms on the Iowa County Board in the past, including serving as President for 5 years. Mark also served on the DHIA board for 6 years. Showing at the WHA Futurity has been a bucket list item for Weier-Nook Farm, and we are very excited for them to be able to cross this item off their list and attend the 2013 Futurity show.

Futurity Fact: The Futurity is a very prestigious show where some of the best Holsteins compete for the Grand Prize of $1,500.  It is a high quality, high stakes show, and we don't envy the job of the judge who has to pick only one winner.  This year, Weier-Nook will join the "Parade of Bovine Beauties" that Chris Lahmers will be judging.  Chris hails from Marysville, Ohio where he and his wife Elizabeth, and their children, Elaina, Ava, and Audrey, own Brown Velvet Brown Swiss and Lah-Dale Holstein show herds.  Chris has judged many shows, including the 2012 International Jr. Holstein show at World Dairy Expo, the 2012 Midwest Spring Red & White show, and the 2011 New York Spring Red & White show.  We are very excited to have Chris as our Judge this year.

2012 Judge Paul Trapp

6th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Exhibitor: Michael Sanchse and Melanie Hoffmann, Soxer Holsteins

Michael Sanchse and fiancee Melanie Hoffmann run Soxer Holsteins in West Bend, WI, located in Washington County.  Michael is a diesel and heavy equipment technician at Yes JCB in Milwaukee. Since a young age, Michael has been involved on his uncle’s farm and a member of the 4-H dairy program. He still helps on the farm today and stays involved in the 4-H program as the Slinger Hi-lite Happy Workers Dairy Leader. Michael also serves as President of Faith UCC church in Slinger.

Futurity Fact: 

The Futurity wouldn't be as successful as it is without our generous sponsors.  This year, Agropur is sponsoring the 3rd place prize of $500.  Agropur's mission is to "provide a wide range of quality dairy products reflecting current and future consumers demands."  The company, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2013, processes more than 3.3 billion liters of milk in 28 plants throughout North America.  They generate more that $3.8 billion in sales and employ more than 6,000 people. For more information, visit their website (www.agropur-us.com).         

5th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Exhibitor: Kristine Jarek, East-Branch Holsteins

Kristine Jarek, along with Dennis, Debbie, Rob, Ann, Barb, Taylor, Brady, Shyann, and Raylee own and operate East-Branch Holsteins in Bonduel, WI located in Shawano county where they own 50 cows and heifers on 250 acres.  Kristi begins each day by heading to the home farm and doing morning chores with her parents.  Kristi also owns and operates Kalypso Salon, which has 16 employees and is a successful growing business in the Green Bay area.  On her days off from the salon, she helps on the farm, and enjoys teaching her nieces and nephew how to enjoy showing animals and how to care for them.  Whether it's showing Holsteins, her Brown Swiss animals, or beef cattle, Kristi enjoys showing and working with all of the animals on the farm.  We look forward to seeing Kristine and East-Branch Holsteins join our "Procession of Bovine Beauties."

Futurity Fact: Showing at the Futurity is an accomplishment in itself, however Kristine and all of our other exhibitors will have their eyes on our grand prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.  One of these coveted prizes is $750 for second prize, generously sponsored by International Protein Sires.  IPS is a division of Our Help, Inc, which was founded in 1991 by Ron and Sandy Sersland.  Their philosophy has always been based on the concept of providing quality products that they would use and buy themselves and providing quality service that they would want to receive.  International Protein Sires was purchased by Our Help, Inc in 1999, which provided the company with access to the Australian and European genetic markets through established distributors.  IPS takes pride in offering bulls that will do the right job for customers no matter where a customer might be located in the world.  For more information on IPS, visit their website (www.ipssires.com).  

2012 second place winner

Farm Technology Days

This year we headed up north and made the long journey to attend Farm Technology Days in Dallas, WI, which is located in Barron County.  Summer intern Nicole and JAC Cassi attended on Wednesday with JAC Rachel attending on Thursday.  We arrived at tent city at 8 a.m. sharp to set up our station in the Youth Center.  The Dairy Tent had some fun exhibits for kids to learn about the dairy industry including listening to a calf's heartbeat, getting a milk mustache, and learning how to milk a cow.  Armed with our WHA booth, promotional items, and dairy facts, we spent the day interacting with the crowd and sharing our love for the Holstein cow.  The highlight of the day was Ag Olympics, where we created an obstacle course for the kids to compete against each other.  The course was "A Day in the Life of a Farmer." The kids had to wake up, put their boots and hat on, milk the cows (gloves filled with water), spin around a bat 5 times, plow the field with their tractor, make breakfast by cracking the eggs, and hop to the finish line in a gunny sack.  All participants received a foam Holstein cow for their efforts. Overall it was a great day filled with fun, sun, and a love of the dairy industry.  What more can you ask for?

Milking the cows (gloves filled with water). 

Try plowing the field straight after spinning around the bat 5 times! 

Cracking eggs for breakfast. 

Futurity Sponsor Spotlight

We are very fortunate to have many amazing sponsors for our 2013 Futurity Show.  We couldn't have such a successful show without them.  A lot of time, hard work, and persistence goes into growing a 1st place Futurity animal, and our exhibitors deserve to be rewarded from their efforts.  Not only does the 1st place animal receive a portion of the purse money from the original entry fees, they also receive a grand prize of $1,500.  We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to our generous sponsor of the 1st place prize, Badgerland Financial who recognizes the efforts of our WHA members.

Badgerland Financial has been serving dairy farmers with industry-specific financial products for more than 95 years.  Currently, Badgerland Financial is helping over 15,000 member-owners, from country home owners to full-time dairy producers.  Whether it's helping a farmer finance more cropland and equipment or working with an avid hunter who wants to purchase 40 acres of recreational hunting land, Badgerland Financial is committed to delivering on their vision to cultivate prosperity for agriculture and rural Wisconsin counties.

Learn how Badgerland Financial can help you by visiting their website(www.badgerlandfinancial.com), or contacting one of their 17 convenient local offices.
   

4th Featured Exhibitor-2013 Futurity

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Cade Stanek, Our-Favorite Holsteins

Cade Stanek is the son of Todd and Mary Stanek.  Cade and his parents, along with his brother Tyler, own and operate Our-Favorite Holsteins in Fall Creek WI located in Eau Claire County.  They milk 200 cows on 500 acres with an RHA of 25,000 and a BAA of 106.7.  Todd is currently serving on the Wisconsin Holstein Association Board and was the past WHA Board President in 2012.  Tyler will be a Freshman at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fall majoring in Chemistry.  Besides exhibiting at the Futurity show, Our-Favorite Holsteins has also shown at District Shows and the Midwest Fall National Show. Make sure to look for Cade and Our-Favorite Holsteins at this year's Futurity Show

Futurity Fact: While Cade is exhibiting his Futurity animal in the Case IH Coliseum, there will be quite a crowd gathered.  Along with dairy industry professionals, the crowd will be made up of many people who are unfamiliar with the dairy industry and the Futurity show.  To answer their questions and keep the crowd active, the Green County and Dane County Royalty will be interacting with the crowd.  They will be asking audience members questions about the dairy industry with grilled cheese coupons as prizes.

Royalty interacting with the crowd at the 2012 Futurity 

3rd Featured Exhibitor-2013 Futurity

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Calep Dewitt, DKC Registered Holsteins

Calep Dewitt resides on DKC Registered Holsteins with his parents, Kristi and Dan Dewitt, in Clinton, WI located in Rock county. Calep has been a very active Junior member of the Wisconsin Holstein Association and enjoys working with the younger members to help them get their animals ready for the show ring.  Calep has exhibited at the Wisconsin Junior State Fair, World Dairy Expo, and Midwest Spring Show.  He recently graduated from Clinton High School and will be attending Blackhawk East College to major in Agriculture Business.  Calep and MS Duckett Durham Beauty-ET are ready to join us in our "Procession of Bovine Beauties."

Futurity Fact: 

A lot of hard work goes into preparing for the Futurity.  After the show, we invite all exhibitors, dignitaries, volunteers, and sponsors to attend a post-show dinner to relax and reflect on the show. The dinner consists of food from various vendors at the State Fair including steak sandwiches from the WI Cattleman's Association and butterfly pork chop sandwiches from the WI Pork Producers.  Calep and all of our exhibitors will be able to enjoy some good food while de-stressing from the show.    

2012 WHA Princess and friends relaxing after the show. 

2nd Featured Exhibitor-2013 Futurity

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Brett Hildebrandt, Milgene Holsteins

Brett Hildebrandt, along with Alvin, Roger, Jared, and Ty Hildebrandt, own and operate Milgene Holsteins, located in Hustisford, WI in Dodge County.  The 90 cow, 1,070 acre operation has just been transferred to an LLC, bringing Brett, Jared, and Ty into ownership along with Alvin and Roger.  Brett has been a very active Junior member of the Wisconsin Holstein Association, serving as a JAC and participating in many shows, including winning Jr All-American Red & White Cow of the Year in 2012, and Jr Reserve Grand Champion Female Red & White at World Dairy Expo in 2012.  Brett is a graduate of UW-Madison Farm & Industry Short Course.  Ty, who also served as a JAC, graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Dairy Science with an emphasis in Business.  Being active members in the dairy industry runs in the family.  Roger has served on the State Holstein Board, is the president of the Dodge County Farm Bureau, and is a current member, along with Ty, of the Dodge County Holstein Board.  Alvin is on the local Feed Mill Board and Jared is on the Dodge County Forage Council. They are all also members of the Dodge County Dairy Promotions Committee.  We look forward to seeing Brett and Milgene Holsteins attend our "Procession of Bovine Beauties."

Futurity Fact: As a Junior member, Brett will be eligible to win the 1st place Junior Award at this year's Futurity Show.  The award goes to the highest placing Junior exhibitor in the show.  Exhibitors must be 21 years old and younger to be considered Junior members.  The 1st place Junior Award winner will receive $50, sponsored by the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association, and an in-kind award sponsored by Ma-Brown Holsteins and Jerseys, Angela Davis-Brown.

Brett exhibiting Milgene SS Joy-ET at the 2010 Futurity Show

2013 Futurity Sneak Peak

The 2013 WHA Futurity Show will be here before we know it on August 10th at 5:00 p.m.  Our exhibitors have put in long hours grooming their entries to be the best of the best, so we want to give everyone a sneak peak at who our exhibitors are and what it takes to raise a Futurity animal.  Unfortunately, you will have to wait until the show for the big unavailing of their bovine beauties.  So sit tight, enjoy our sneak peak, and we hope to see you at the 2013 WHA Futurity for "A Procession of Bovine Beauties!"

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Ryan-Vu Dairy, Mark & Mary, Chad & Amy Ryan

Ryan-Vu Dairy has exhibited in the Futurity Show for many years and are big supporters of the show. Chad and Amy, along with Mark and Mary Ryan own and operate the 90 cow operation in Fond du Lac.  The herd has had many accomplishments over the years including ranking 2nd highest BAA herd among 76-100 cows, receiving the Progressive Breeder Registry Award for 3 years, and raising 5 Gold Medal Dams and 8 Dams of Merit.  Chad is currently serving his first term as a director on the WHA Board where he serves as co-chair of the Midwest National Spring Show and Scholarship Committees.  He also coaches the Fond du Lac County Dairy Judging Team and enjoys judging shows.  Make sure to look for the Ryan-Vu entries at this year's Futurity Show.

Futurity Fact:    

The cattle are not the only one's looking their best at the Futurity Show.  It is a chance for the exhibitors to shed the white pants and dress to impress.  Dignitaries at the show vote for Best Dressed Junior, Best Dressed Male, and Best Dressed Female with a prize of $100 for each of the winners. This year, the Best Dressed Junior Award will be sponsored by Ryan-Vu Dairy.

2012 Best Dressed Junior Winner Carley Krull